Author Archives: Eliot Brockner

Concerns with the Brazil Narrative

By Eliot Brockner | Published: February 2, 2012
Thank you to Rio Gringa and Andrew Downie for calling out international coverage of the recent collapse of several buildings in Rio de Janeiro. Numerous English-language media outlets have used the tragic collapses, which left 17 dead and dozens injured, as a platform to talk about infrastructure in Brazil and the country’s preparedness for 2014 [...]
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On Extraditions and Colombian-Panamanian Ties

By Eliot Brockner | Published: January 4, 2012
Much has been made about Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos’ success at mending relations with his neighbors to the east and south. Rightly so. Given the difficult situation he inherited from his predecessor, this is no small feat. But Santos’ newest diplomatic test may now come from the north. On Jan. 3, Panamanian Foreign Minister Roberto Henriquez [...]
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US households becoming more Latin American?

By Eliot Brockner | Published: November 21, 2011
A major narrative in the US media (CNN, NYT, MSNBC, WaPo, just to name a few) these days is that of the ‘Lost Generation’, i.e. those recent college graduates who, unable to find jobs and saddled with debt, are returning to live at home after graduating college. A whole slew of articles has been written [...]
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Brazil in Latin America: Emerging political risks?

By Eliot Brockner | Published: November 6, 2011
Simon Romero has written a solid article on the front page of yesterday’s NYT about how Brazil’s rise and activity in Latin America is creating diplomatic problems with some its regional neighbors. The article itself is worth reading in its entirety, as it points to an interesting trend in regional politics, but for brevity’s sake, [...]
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Overstating Cartels’ Relevance to the American Electorate

By Eliot Brockner | Published: November 2, 2011
The lead article in last week’s Proceso talks about the political importance of capturing El Chapo for both the Calderon and Obama administrations. The article is worth a read in its entirety, but the focus of this post is on a quote from the informed and esteemed analyst/lawyer/economist Edgardo Buscaglia: “For Obama, El Chapo is Osama [...]
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In Ciudad Mier, deploying troops is not enough

By Eliot Brockner | Published: September 5, 2011
Back in November 2010, a small town on the US-Mexico border, Ciudad Mier, made headlines when most of the town’s residents left because of intense fighting between the Zetas and Gulf cartels. Both groups wanted the plaza, which is a strategic smuggling corridor for weapons, cash, and money between the United States and Mexico, and [...]
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Latin America’s Security Dilemma Continued

By Eliot Brockner | Published: August 17, 2011
Sam Novacich and I have a piece at ISN in which we take a closer look at one of Rio’s Pacifying Police Units (UPP) in the Cantagalo/Pavão-Pavãozinho communities and document some of the challenges the community members and UPP are facing with the new game in town. In addition to looking into some of the lesser-reported impacts [...]
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Different Means, Same Ends

By Eliot Brockner | Published: August 5, 2011
Oil production in Colombia is a popular topic these days. Domestic production levels are at an all time high, and Colombian state-owned oil behemoth Ecopetrol is considering selling 10 percent of its stake in the firm to the public. Dow Jones reports the deal will likely go down in 2012. Silla Vacia has an excellent [...]
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The United States and the Wealth Gap

By Eliot Brockner | Published: July 26, 2011
A Reuters analysis, “In debt row, hints of emerging-economy crisis”, highlights the point that the United States’ current debt ceiling stalemate, brought on by highly factionalized political camps, is akin to crises faced by emerging economies. The analysis itself is worth a read, although one quote, from Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, stands out: “When [...]
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The Peso Paradox

By Eliot Brockner | Published: July 23, 2011
One of the more troubling signs of financial difficulties in Argentina has been the recent news that the government has fined economists for publishing inflation rates that do not reflect those of the national statistics agency, INDEC. There is another indicator, the value of the peso against the decreasing value of the dollar, that is also [...]
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